TAIPEI, Taiwan — Chinese authorities are using nets, spraying insecticide and even deploying drones to fight the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, which has infected thousands of people.

Chikungunya is a disease caused by a virus of the same name. The chikungunya virus was first identified in people sickened during an outbreak in Tanzania in 1952. Its name is derived from a word in the Makonde language, which means “that which bends up,” due to the severe pain it can cause.